Cleaning device such as carpet cleaner, floorwasher, floor sweeper, polishing machine and the like with two motors

ABSTRACT

A cleaning device such as a carpet cleaner, floorwasher, floor sweeper, polishing machine with two motors, comprising a wheeled base provided with brushing elements driven by a first electric motor; the wheeled base is maneuvered by a handle that supports a suction body that is pivoted to the base; the suction body is provided with suction elements operated by a second electric motor. The first motor and the second motor are both accommodated in a corresponding seat on the wheeled base.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Devices such as carpet cleaners, floorwashers, floor sweepers, polishingmachines and the like are currently known and extremely widespread forcleaning and sanitizing enclosed spaces and particularly walkablesurfaces.

These devices generally comprise a wheeled base provided with brushingmeans driven by a first electric motor.

The brushing means are designed to act mechanically on the surfaces toclean or polish, removing dust or spreading wax previously applied tothe floor.

The wheeled base is maneuvered by means of a handle, which supports asuction body that is pivoted to the wheeled base.

The suction body is provided with suction means operated by a secondelectric motor.

The second electric motor, which drives a suction turbine, isaccommodated inside the suction body together with a bag or tank forcollecting dust or liquids, which is provided with at least onefiltering device, and with a duct that is adapted to convey theaspirated dust into the collecting bag or tank.

Although these devices are widespread and appreciated commercially, theyhave aspects that can be improved.

A drawback is the user's difficulty in maneuvering said devices, owingto the weight associated with the handle.

This weight is due to the fact that the suction body contains the secondelectric motor.

The suction body, as mentioned, is rigidly coupled to the handle andconsequently increases its weight.

The handle and the suction body are turned by the user, lowering themand then raising them, about the axis of pivoting to the wheeled base,in order to be able to push the device also into areas to be treatedthat are difficult to reach, such as flooring portions located below apiece of furniture, portions of carpet located below a couch, and thelike.

The drawback worsens if one considers that the devices are generallyused mainly by women, who on average have less physical strength thanmen.

Difficulty in handling and steering such devices can accordingly causeincorrect and incomplete cleaning of the surfaces that are treated orimperfect spreading of wax or slow these operations due to the frequentpauses required by the fatigue that rapidly occurs in the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The aim of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device such ascarpet cleaner, floorwasher, floor sweeper, polishing machine and thelike with two motors that is capable of solving the problems anddrawbacks revealed by known types of device for cleaning surfaces andspreading wax.

Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide acleaning device such as carpet cleaner, floorwasher, floor sweeper,polishing machine and the like that can be operated easily by a userwith less fatigue than known types.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning devicesuch as carpet cleaner, floorwasher, floor sweeper, polishing machineand the like whose performance is at least equal to that of known types.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning devicesuch as carpet cleaner, floorwasher, floor sweeper and the like that canbe manufactured easily and at low cost with conventional systems andtechnologies.

This aim and these and other objects that will become better apparenthereinafter are achieved by a cleaning device such as carpet cleaner,floorwasher, floor sweeper, polishing machine and the like with twomotors, of the type that comprises a wheeled base provided with brushingmeans driven by a first electric motor, said wheeled base beingmaneuvered by means of a handle that supports a suction body that ispivoted to said base, said suction body being provided with suctionmeans that are operated by a second electric motor, the device beingcharacterized in that said first motor and said second motor areaccommodated in a corresponding seat on said wheeled base.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention willbecome better apparent from the following detailed description of apreferred but not exclusive embodiment thereof, illustrated by way ofnon-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partially sectional view of a cleaning device such as acarpet cleaner according to the invention, with the handle and thesuction body in a substantially horizontal configuration;

FIG. 2 is a partially sectional top view of the wheeled base of thecarpet cleaner according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of the wheeled base of the carpetcleaner according to the invention, with the handle and the suction bodyin a substantially vertical configuration;

FIG. 4 is a sectional side view of the wheeled base of the carpetcleaner according to the invention in a second embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to the figures, a cleaning device such as carpet cleaner,floorwasher, floor sweeper and the like with two motors according to theinvention is generally designated by the reference numeral 10.

Such device 10 comprises a wheeled base 11 provided with sweeping means12.

The sweeping means 12 are driven by a first electric motor 13.

The wheeled base 11 is maneuvered by means of a handle 14.

The handle 14 supports a suction body 15, which in turn is pivoted tothe wheeled base 11.

The suction body 15 is provided with suction means 16, which areoperated by a second electric motor 17.

The device 10 is characterized in that both the first motor 13 and thesecond motor 17 are each accommodated in a corresponding seat,designated respectively by the reference numerals 18 and 19, in thewheeled base 11.

In a constructive variation of the invention, not shown, the seat is asingle seat for both motors 13 and 17.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the axis of the secondelectric motor 17 coincides with the axis about which the suction body15 is pivoted to the wheeled base 11.

In the embodiment described here, in which the device 10 issubstantially a carpet cleaner, the first electric motor 13 and thesecond electric motor 17 are arranged so that their axes are parallel.

The axes of the first motor 13 and of the second motor 17 can bearranged at right angles to each other in the case of a floorwasher, ofa floor sweeper or of a polishing machine provided with one or morecircular brushes whose axis is perpendicular to the floor, as describedin greater detail hereinafter and as shown in FIG. 4.

In the embodiment described here, the sweeping means 12 are formed by aroller 20 for treating a surface.

The roller 20 is provided with bristles if the device is configured as acarpet cleaner.

As an alternative, the roller 20 can be for example cylindrical andadapted for polishing flooring surfaces.

In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 4, the sweeping means, heredesignated by the reference 112, can be constituted, as alreadymentioned, by at least one circular brush 120, whose axis isperpendicular to the treated surface.

In this case, the first electric motor 113 and the second electric motor117 are arranged so that their axes are perpendicular.

The circular brush 120, if suitable for polishing, may have an abrasivesurface.

The roller 20 is turned by the first motor 13 by means of a belt device21.

The at least one circular brush instead can be connected directly to thefirst motor 13.

The suction means 16 comprise a hose 22 for conveying the aspirated dusttoward a collection bag 23.

The bag 23 has at least one filtering device, which is not shown for thesake of simplicity.

If the device 10 relates to a floorwasher, not shown, instead of acarpet cleaner, instead of the bag 23 there is a liquid collection tank.

The suction means 16 comprise an impeller 24, which is associated withthe second electric motor 17, which moves it and indeed producessuction.

The arrangement of both electric motors 13 and 17 on the wheeled baseallows such motors to discharge their weights directly onto the ground.

A carpet cleaner, floorwasher, polishing machine and the like that usessuch a weight distribution is obviously lighter for a user and thereforemuch more maneuverable.

Further, the coaxial arrangement of the second motor 17 with respect tothe pivoting 30 of the suction body 15 to the base 11 allows to optimizethe space available, so that the base 11 maintains a compactness that isessential for correct treatment of hidden areas or of areas that aredifficult to reach (under pieces of furniture, couches, et cetera) ofthe surfaces to be treated, such as floors, fitted carpets, loosecarpets and the like.

In practice it has been found that the invention thus described solvesthe problems noted in known types of carpet cleaner, floorwasher, floorsweeper, polishing machine and the like with two motors.

In particular, the present invention provides a cleaning device such ascarpet cleaner, floorwasher, floor sweeper, polishing machine and thelike with two motors that can be maneuvered easily by a user with lesseffort than known types.

Moreover, the present invention provides a cleaning device whoseperformance is not inferior to that of known types.

Moreover, the present invention provides a cleaning device such ascarpet cleaner, floorwasher, floor sweeper and the like that can bemanufactured easily and cheaply with known systems and technologies.

The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modificationsand variations, all of which are within the scope of the appendedclaims; all the details may further be replaced with other technicallyequivalent elements.

In practice, the materials employed, so long as they are compatible withthe specific use, as well as the dimensions, may be any according torequirements and to the state of the art.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. PD2004A000008 fromwhich this application claims priority are incorporated herein byreference.

1. A cleaning device such as carpet cleaner, floorwasher, floor sweeper,polishing machine with two motors, of the type that comprises a wheeledbase provided with brushing means driven by a first electric motor, saidwheeled base being maneuvered by means of a handle that supports asuction body that is pivoted to said base, said suction body beingprovided with suction means that are operated by a second electricmotor, wherein said first motor and said second motor are accommodatedin a corresponding seat on said wheeled base.
 2. The device of claim 1,wherein an axis of said second electric motor coincides with an axisabout which said suction body, and therefore said handle rigidly coupledto the suction body, are pivoted to said wheeled base.
 3. The device ofclaim 2, wherein said first electric motor and said second electricmotor are arranged so that their axes are parallel.
 4. The device ofclaim 2, wherein said first electric motor and said second electricmotor are arranged so that their axes are perpendicular.
 5. The deviceof claim 1, wherein said sweeping means are formed by at least oneroller for treating a surface, said roller being turned by said firstmotor by means of a belt device.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein saidsweeping means are formed by at least one circular brush, whose axis isperpendicular to the floor, said at least one brush being driven by saidfirst motor by means of a direct coupling.
 7. The device of claim 1,wherein said suction means comprise a hose for conveying aspirated dusttoward a dust collection bag with at least one filtering device, and asuction impeller associated with said second electric motor.
 8. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein said suction means comprise a hose forconveying aspirated liquids toward a liquid collection tank.
 9. Thedevice of claim 5, wherein said roller is provided with bristles. 10.The device of claim 5, wherein said roller is cylindrical and adaptedfor polishing a floor.
 11. The device of claim 6, wherein said at leastone circular brush has an abrasive polishing surface.
 12. The device ofclaim 1, wherein said first motor is accommodated in a first seat andsaid second motor is accommodated in a second seat.
 13. The device ofclaim 1, wherein said first motor and said second motor are accommodatedin a same single seat.